The Outcast ✔️

Chapter 14

Date: April 17th, 2021 (Sunday)

Today Maddie has a soccer game. Only Lauren and Owen went since everyone else was busy. Ryan dropped them off and was going to be back to pick them up later.

Right now Lauren and Owen are sitting next to each other on the bleachers. Just like he has for the past two days Owen has been trying to get Lauren to talk to him but she still hasn't said anything. He is really getting concerned about her now because the last time she closed herself off from him was a few years ago when she was depressed.

Lauren was lost in her own thoughts again. She has been doing a lot of thinking the past two days. She really feels like an outcast in her family. She knows she needs to tell at least Maddie and Owen soon because she can't keep it inside of her for much longer. She is just scared that they won't see her the same again and won't love her anymore. She knows she can be a handful so what if they won't want to put up with her anymore since she is only their half-sister. There are just so many what-ifs and she doesn't know what to do about it. Usually, she would just go to Maddie and Owen with these problems but obviously, she can't this time.

"Lauren!! Lauren!!" Owen slightly yelled while snapping his fingers in front of her face. He knew she was lost in her own thoughts and that he needed to get her to listen to him.

She looked at him and was confused on why he looked stressed out like something bad just happened.

"I'm sure you probably weren't paying attention but Maddie is hurt and they are taking her to the hospital so we need to go now."

Lauren didn't really show any emotion on her face which surprised Owen but he's been getting a lot of surprises from her this week. He wishes he knew what was going on with her but he didn't know how to get her to talk to him.

Lauren and Owen got up and walked off the bleachers. Owen walked straight towards the Ambulance and Lauren followed.

"We are Maddie's brother and sister. Can we ride along to the hospital?" Owen asked the paramedic standing there. She nodded.

Immediately when Owen said that Lauren's heart started racing really fast. For one her fear of doctors and for two this reminded her of what happened when their mom passed out and the house caught on fire. However, she was trying to be strong and not have to lean on Owen for support.

Owen led her into the ambulance and they sat down on the seat. When she looked up she saw all kinds of machines hooked up to Maddie and that freaked her out. So even though she wasn't talking to Owen or any of her siblings at the moment her fear overtook her body and she immediately grabbed Owen's hand. Even with the state of mind she has been in for the past 2 days, she still finds comfort in Owen.

Lauren still wasn't sure what happened to Maddie but she also wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

They arrived at the hospital about 5 minutes later. They wheeled Maddie out first and then Lauren and Owen stepped out. They weren't allowed to see Maddie yet so Owen was leading them towards their mom's room when Lauren immediately stopped walking. She wasn't ready to face her mom yet.

"Lauren, what are you doing," Owen asked confused about why she stopped.

She knew she needed to say something.

"Uh um I need some fresh air. I think I'm just going to go out into the courtyard for a little bit."

"Ok, then I will go with you,"

"No," She said way too fast and Owen raised his eyebrows at her, "I mean no. I just want to be alone for a little bit if that's ok."

"Oh ok I guess. I'll come to get you in about an hour. Ok?

She nodded her head and walked to the courtyard.

She sat out there alone for 15 minutes. It was a nice day outside. She was thinking about how good her life was before her mom ended up in the hospital. She was just having a fun and normal childhood with Maddie, Owen, and her friends. She misses it.

"Lauren, is that you?" She heard a male voice say. It was someone she became closer with since Wednesday. They've hung out more during gym since they are partners in the game they are playing. He is one of the popular kids in their grade and most people see him as a selfish person but to Lauren, he is really nice and cares about her as a friend.

"Yeah, it is. Hey Caden!" Lauren tried saying cheerful but she honestly wasn't in a cheerful mood.

"Why so gloomy, friend?" Caden asked while sitting down next to her.

"Just got a few things on my mind. What are you doing here at the hospital?"

"Well I was going to ask you the same thing but my mom and stepdad are doctors here so I usually hang out here on the weekends if my grandparents can't come over."

"Oh well my mom is in the hospital and has been for about two weeks because she has cancer and my sister was just brought in like 15 minutes ago for some reason that I don't know. She got hurt during her soccer game but I wasn't really paying attention. My brother, Owen, saw whatever it was though."

"Oh I'm sorry about your mom and I'm sure your sister will be fine. Why aren't you with your mom and brother right now?"

"Well, I'm not really on speaking terms with either of them right now."

"Would you mind explaining to me why you aren't talking to them?"

Lauren thought about whether she should tell Caden. Maybe he could help her decide if she should tell her siblings the truth.

So that's what she did. She told Caden everything that has happened in the past few days and he was really understanding.

"Why are you afraid to tell your siblings or at least Maddie and Owen the truth?" Caden said, intrigued.

"Because what if they don't love me anymore? I don't know if I could deal with that," Lauren said sadly.

"Ok but not talking to them and just pushing them away isn't helping you much either. From what you have told me about Maddie and Owen they aren't going to love you any less. I know it feels like it because I'm sure I would have the same feelings as you if I were in your position but they won't. You are their little sister whether you are their full sister or half-sister they will always love you. You also will never know how they will react until you tell them the truth. Lauren listen to me please this isn't a secret you should be dealing with by yourself. You need tell your siblings. So I'm going to say this nicely go to your siblings now and tell them the truth."

"You are very wise. I should come to you more often for advice. Thank you, Caden," Lauren said to him.

"No problem. I should get back to my step Dad's office before they realize that I left. See you at school on Monday," Caden said and walked into the hospital.